No shortage of detail here. And one of those 'he said, she said' scenarios, so really just depends which side you believe
Aberdeen taxi driver warned after allegedly sweary row with charity volunteer over best route to George Street
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Saltheesh Nirupakaran was also accused of refusing fares from passengers in wheelchairs.
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An Aberdeen taxi driver has been given a formal warning after allegedly telling a woman to “f***ing get out” of his cab in a row over the way to George Street.
The passenger, understood to be a volunteer collecting money for charity, claimed Saltheesh Nirupakaran rushed off with her luggage after she was ejected from his vehicle on John Street.
His licence was reviewed by the council’s licensing committee in light of the complaint, where he denied any wrongdoing in his dealing with what he claimed was an “aggressive” passenger.
Mr Nirupakaran also faced complaints over refusing disabled passengers at the railway station taxi rank.
Three complaints in as many weeks
All three complaints against Mr Nirupakaran, who has been a taxi driver for 11 years, concerned alleged conduct during a three-week spell in August.
The driver previously held a medical exemption for a back problem, which excused him for assisting passengers with luggage and wheelchairs.
But that had expired in July – and only allowed him to refuse to help, not to turn down the fare altogether.
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Mr Nirupakaran has since applied for a new exemption, but only after he was informed of the complaints.
A fellow cabbie had reported him to the council over his refusal of disabled passengers.
He was witnessed turning away a motorised wheelchair user on August 6 at the railway station taxi rank, and three days later refused another potential passenger in a wheelchair, even though they were accompanied by an assistant.
Taxi driver accused of going ‘wrong way to George Street’
Meanwhile, his “scared” passenger complained after the allegedly sweary row near George Street on August 21.
The woman had been collecting donations from Scotrail before getting in Mr Nirupakaran’s cab and requesting a ride.
In the complaint, his customer reported the driver was “going the wrong way” on John Street and a quarrel about the meter charge ensued.
After requesting the taxi stop, she claimed Mr Nirupakaran said: “F*****g get out now,” which left the customer feeling “scared”.
She also claimed the taxi driver had rushed off before she could get her items out of the boot or even shut the car door.
Aberdeen taxi driver’s back problems left ‘no choice but to refuse wheelchair passengers’
Mr Nirupakaran faced a hearing at the Town House this week, accompanied by his solicitor Dean Purdie.
Mr Purdie said his client refused the disabled passengers as he can’t lift anything heavy without risk due to a medically diagnosed back problem.
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His solicitor explained: “Heavy lifting, including assisting disabled passengers, onto a taxi could create a risk not only to my client’s health.
“If he buckles helping somebody move into a vehicle in a wheelchair, that person could then be exposed to harm too because they could fall back and there could be an accident.
“He felt he had no practical choice but to refuse.”
Aberdeen taxi driver: Charity volunteer was ‘aggressive and bad-tempered’
He added that Mr Nirupakaran “denies any wrong doing” when it came to the third complaint.
The taxi driver claimed that the customer had been “aggressive, rude and bad-tempered from the start” and “jumped out of the vehicle” when it was stopped at a red light.
Mr Purdie said the sliding doors of his client’s car were open until he managed to park up safely elsewhere to close them.
The solicitor added: “My client denies any rudeness or inappropriate behaviour towards the passenger.
“She in fact had started to argue with him about her fare and I think had used abusive language.”
Mr Nirupakaran explained he handed the valuables that were left behind to the police.
Councillor queried Aberdeen taxi driver about his conduct
Councillor Neil MacGregor probed the driver for more details around the alleged row.
He said: “I just float the idea that somebody who leaves a taxi suddenly in a hurry, leaving luggage behind, sounds as if they are or possibly were really upset.”
In response, Mr Nirupakaran said that the passenger was “not happy” as she approached the taxi rank and claimed she threw her luggage in the cab “like rubbish”.
He added: “I don’t know what happened, maybe she’s stressed or anything.”
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Mr MacGregor went on to say he was “really not happy” with the idea that the taxi driver “reacted badly” to the passenger’s conduct.
The Dyce, Bucksburn and Danestone councillor also pressed the taxi driver on why he refused the two disabled fares.
Solicitor Mr Purdie jumped in to clarify: “We’re not accepting that he refused flatly to take a person because they were in a wheelchair.
“What we’re saying is he did refuse to accept them because he believed he would have to assist, and that would have been a breach because he didn’t have an exemption.”
‘We’re not court’: Councillors reminded they can’t call witnesses
Meanwhile, councillor Donna Clark asked why the taxi driver who made the two complaints wasn’t at the hearing.
Putting it bluntly, council solicitor Sandy Munro said the committee was “not a court” so couldn’t call witnesses.
In June, Aberdeen City Council decided not to make CCTV mandatory in all taxis, despite claims it would increase safety for drivers and passengers.
Making a final plea for his client, Mr Purdie admitted Mr Nirupakaran had breached his responsibilities by not assisting the two wheelchair users but claimed it would be “too big a risk”.
“There are plenty of taxis, it’s no major inconvenience.
“The whole scenario is unsatisfactory and is down to the lack of the exemption being in place and ultimately, my client has to take responsibility for that.”
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He also made it clear that his client’s renewed exemption should be in place soon, meaning there should be no more issues in the future.
Mr Nirupakaran is no stranger to licensing committee scrutiny, having appeared before members in May.
On that occasion, Police Scotland submitted a representation ahead of his taxi driver licence renewal, after he hit a member of the public with his vehicle while driving at night-time in 2023.
The taxi driver was given nine points on his DVLA driving licence.
After considering the latest row, councillors agreed to issue Mr Nirupakaran with a formal warning placed on his licence for two years.
His taxi licence will be reviewed by the committee again if any further complaints of merit are received.
